A note on the words: keirin is Japanese track cycling, raced at dedicated stadiums where spectators bet on the riders. “Fry” here means panko-breaded pieces deep-fried and served on a stick. Menchi is a fried patty of minced meat, and kuro-hanpen is the gray-black fish cake of Shizuoka, made with whole oily fish. Kamaboko is a firm, steamed loaf of pureed fish, sliced and eaten cold; wasabi-zuke is wasabi stems pickled in sake lees, and itawasa is the two served together. Motsu-ni is offal simmered slowly with vegetables in a miso or soy broth.
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Hamamatsuya on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hi, this is Hangover Meshi. I had a bit of time to spare in Shizuoka, so I got someone to take me to the keirin track. Keirin is something you could perfectly well do back in the Kanto area, but I had never watched it or had a go, so I was rather looking forward to it. It is a fair distance from the station, but walkable if you feel like walking, ha. Taking a taxi is probably the sensible thing, but I had time in hand so I strolled over. And stepping into the keirin track — well, this place has a mood all its own, ha.
And this is the shop that was inside the grounds!
Hamamatsuya! What a wonderfully time-worn place, ha ha. All sorts of menu items are written boldly on a yellow ground. Jackpot Sushi, Sure-Win Curry, Big Long-Shot Fry. Marvelous, ha. They sell drinks and fried things outside as well, so plenty of people were ordering takeout to eat as they walked, but since I was here I wanted to stop in properly — so in I went.
I ordered a highball to start and asked for some fry. I did not really know what they had, so I went with a vague “five or so, whatever you recommend!” — and they took it in stride.
Once the order goes in, the server heads outside, ha. I see — the fry is fetched from what they are selling out front. They brought back menchi cutlet, horse mackerel, kuro-hanpen and the like. The coating is crisp and firm and pretty tasty, ha. Junk-food flavor. And really, a hundred yen a skewer — is that not incredibly cheap?
Shizuoka means, what? Wasabi-zuke. Kamaboko in that classic kamaboko coloring, with wasabi-zuke on the side — how perfect is that! This is exactly the kind of drinking snack you want, ha.
And then the motsu-ni. The loose change at the bottom of the photo really sets the scene, ha ha. The motsu-ni is very tender and very deep in flavor. This taste has probably not changed in decades. Thoroughly simmered and full of savor, with the collapsed vegetables melted into the broth — seriously delicious. This, with a drink, is surely what everyone looks forward to while they work at the keirin. I think I get the feeling a little! The old fellow next to me struck up a conversation and we chatted a while.
This sort of thing is lovely.
For the record, I did not win a thing at the keirin. Tricky business, ha. Still, I think I got a good taste of the atmosphere of a keirin track! There was one other shop inside the grounds besides Hamamatsuya — just those two. Since I came to Hamamatsuya this time, I thought it might be worth trying the other one if I ever come again.
Hamamatsuya (Oden / Higashi-Shizuoka Station, Yunoki Station (Shizuoka Railway), Kasugacho Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.0
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
